Disney+ hits 50M subscribers five months after launch

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited April 2020
With millions staying at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney's fledgling streaming service, Disney+, has amassed tens of millions of new subscribers over the past two months.




Disney on Wednesday announced Disney+ now boasts 50 million paying subscribers, up from 28.6 million counted in February, reports Variety.

The massive uptick in subscribers -- some 21 million additions in about two months -- comes on the heels of an aggressive expansion into Europe and India. Disney+ launched in Austria France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK over the past two weeks, according to the report.

In India, the service launched as a beta on March 11 ahead of wide availability on April 3. The country already accounts for 8 million of Disney's 50 million paying subscribers.

Disney initially set a goal of 60 million to 90 million global subscribers by the end of its fiscal 2024, meaning the service is well exceeding internal projections.

"We're truly humbled that Disney Plus is resonating with millions around the globe, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion," said Kevin Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. "Great storytelling inspires and uplifts, and we are in the fortunate position of being able to deliver a vast array of great entertainment rooted in joy and optimism on Disney Plus."

Disney+ debuted in November with a mountain of content, including access to Disney, Pixar, Marvel Universe, Star Wars and National Geographic movies and shows, as well as hotly anticipated originals like "The Mandalorian."

Apple TV+, Apple's streaming service that dishes up original series and specials, launched that same month. The Cupertino tech giant has yet to detail subscriber numbers, though CEO Tim Cook in January said the service is off to a "rousing start."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    A ton of great content for a tiny fee.
    Millions of kids hunkering down at home because of covid-19
    Let's hope that these subscriptions also led to purchases of iPads and AppleTVs.
    edited April 2020 DAalseth
  • Reply 2 of 25
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    I can see apple buying Disney in 2021/2022.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Disney + is good value for money if you have kids. Streaming quality good, and a large catalogue too.

    Apple TV+ is OK while free, but definitely not worth paying for. I can’t see that changing come next November. It is too...barren.
    chemengin1CloudTalkintrashman69
  • Reply 4 of 25
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    chemengin1
  • Reply 5 of 25
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    Different audience i guess.  
  • Reply 6 of 25
    tenchi211 said:
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    Wait cannibalism?!?! Why in the world would bite Steve McQueen?  He's been dead nearly 40 years.  :D 
    I guess it might be safer than actually biting a bullet.  Not as gross, but probably safer. :)

    ↑↑↑ It's funnier if we don't acknowledge bite the bullet is an idiom.

    On topic: Disney+ is better than I though it was going to be.  I knew it would be good, but when bundled with Hulu and ESPN+, it's nice as all get out.
    tenchi211avon b7
  • Reply 7 of 25
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    entropys said:
    Disney + is good value for money if you have kids. Streaming quality good, and a large catalogue too.

    Apple TV+ is OK while free, but definitely not worth paying for. I can’t see that changing come next November. It is too...barren.

    It wil take time for apple to Build up its Library.  Disney Library didn't happen over night.   They, "Apple" Need  Hit series that will attract A younger Audience.  JMO.
    gilly33
  • Reply 8 of 25
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Once you’ve had your fill of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and old Disney movies, that’s pretty much it. In the area of original content (with the exception of The Madalorian) there’s not much at all. I still prefer Apple TV+ for original content. Apple TV+ just needs a catalog of watchable oldies. 
    dewmembenz1962ronnasdasd
  • Reply 9 of 25
    d_2d_2 Posts: 117member
    lkrupp said:
    Once you’ve had your fill of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and old Disney movies, that’s pretty much it. In the area of original content (with the exception of The Madalorian) there’s not much at all. I still prefer Apple TV+ for original content. Apple TV+ just needs a catalog of watchable oldies. 
    Well said - even with three teenage kids, we only watch Disney+ on occasion - pre-Disney+ we’ve already watched (and somewhat memorized) every Pixar, Star Wars and almost every Marvel movie - and while we have enjoyed a few of the other movies, that’s about it.

    As a YouTube TV customer for live sports and news, along with Amazon Prime, we get plenty of other TV and Movie content. That said - AppleTV+ as free was a great test, as just the first two shows we’re hooked on have us ready for year two.
    gilly33ronn
  • Reply 10 of 25
    gilly33gilly33 Posts: 433member
    lkrupp said:
    Once you’ve had your fill of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and old Disney movies, that’s pretty much it. In the area of original content (with the exception of The Madalorian) there’s not much at all. I still prefer Apple TV+ for original content. Apple TV+ just needs a catalog of watchable oldies. 
    You make a very good point. I’ll stay interested as long as they carry through on their Marvel phase 4 promises. In essence new content. As it stands and I believe they have less original series than Apple does. 
  • Reply 11 of 25
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    tenchi211 said:
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    Wait cannibalism?!?! Why in the world would bite Steve McQueen?  He's been dead nearly 40 years.  :D 
    I guess it might be safer than actually biting a bullet.  Not as gross, but probably safer. :)

    ↑↑↑ It's funnier if we don't acknowledge bite the bullet is an idiom.

    On topic: Disney+ is better than I though it was going to be.  I knew it would be good, but when bundled with Hulu and ESPN+, it's nice as all get out.
    LOL!! I didn't even realize I did that Steve McQueen idiom there😀!! Someone was lucky enough to have a brand new "Bullitt" green mustang delivered to my job site a couple weeks ago, and I'm still kind of tripping on that. Oh, and a great movie that was too by the way🙌🏾!
    CloudTalkin
  • Reply 12 of 25
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Disney's market capitalization is $182 Billion. That's less than the amount of cash on hand Apple has. But Apple doesn't want to run theme parks, and Disney probably would try to prevent a takeover. It may need to be a friendly takeover, arranged between Tim Cook and Bob Chapek for a premium price of $250 Billion.

    Disney invented "The Mouse," while Apple invented "the mouse."
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Disney's market capitalization is $182 Billion. That's less than the amount of cash on hand Apple has. But Apple doesn't want to run theme parks, and Disney probably would try to prevent a takeover. It may need to be a friendly takeover, arranged between Tim Cook and Bob Chapek for a premium price of $250 Billion.

    Disney invented "The Mouse," while Apple invented "the mouse."
    If Disney's market cap is $182B, then it's more than Apple's cash on hand.  Apple has been spending it's cash reserves hand over fist on stock buybacks.  I'm not really sure what they have now, but I know where it was when this article was written: https://www.cultofmac.com/642492/googles-massive-cash-pile-is-now-bigger-than-apples/

    Apple buying Disney doesn't make good business sense for a lot reasons.  
    pscooter63gatorguyronn
  • Reply 14 of 25
    WallaxWallax Posts: 8member
    tenchi211 said:
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    I recommend you try some of Apple TV+ shows. I’m excited to see season 2 of some shows & will be subscribing. 
  • Reply 15 of 25
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    tenchi211 said:
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.

    So basically you never gave Apple TV a shot (never watched anything), and that's supposed to be damning for Apple TV, and a reason for you to cancel? It's like saying I bought a car and decided not to drive it, so thats the car's fault. 

    Apple TV doesn't have a TON of content, but whatever is there is pretty high quality, and all unique and exclusive. If you watched it all and hated it, thats one thing, but you never even attempted to engage with the content.
    edited April 2020 ronnlkrupp
  • Reply 16 of 25
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    tenchi211 said:
    I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    I've enjoyed quite a bit of content on Apple TV+, because I like original material (which Disney+ is seriously lacking in except for kids programming). I have both and enjoy both, but if you made me cancel one today, it would be Disney+ -- because I've seen much of what is of interest to me already, either in cinemas or on the service. It's not a war, you can enjoy both -- and given how cheap Apple TV+ is, I'm very likely to stay on for at least a year past the free year.

    But one of the really great things about subscription streaming TV is that if a service isn't "doing it" for you, you can unsubscribe and save that money -- or use it on another service for a while and bounce back and forth as more content of interest is added.

    One thing for sure -- zero interest in ever going back to commercial/cable TV.
    ronn
  • Reply 17 of 25
    Wallax said:
    tenchi211 said:
    I recently bit the bullitt and sprang for a year of Disney+. It really is a great value for the money. Tons of content. I have not even watched one show since I've had Apple TV+! Definitely will be cancelling after the free year is up.
    I recommend you try some of Apple TV+ shows. I’m excited to see season 2 of some shows & will be subscribing. 

    I will take your advice and give it a chance. I'll admit that I haven't seen anything that has caught my eye yet, but since I do have time on my hands now, I will give it a serious go! 

    And I also agree with the commenters here that Disney's original content is no match for their catalog material, but they have SO MUCH in that catalog at the moment, and for me it's more than enough go give it go for at least a year. I do hope that Apple TV+ is able to compete though. Competition is good for everyone!
  • Reply 18 of 25
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Disney's fledgling streaming service, Disney+, has amassed tens of millions of new subscribers over the past two months.

    The service may be new, but it is certainly not "fledgling". It launched fully baked, with tons of content and minimal technical issues to millions of subscribers in the first month!
    Apple TV's service is better described as fledgling.

  • Reply 19 of 25
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    mike1 said:
    Disney's fledgling streaming service, Disney+, has amassed tens of millions of new subscribers over the past two months.

    The service may be new, but it is certainly not "fledgling". It launched fully baked, with tons of content and minimal technical issues to millions of subscribers in the first month!
    Apple TV's service is better described as fledgling.

    A fledging? A gnat, a mote, a nanoparticle. 
    And soo public television.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    I refuse to participate. I’m not going to spend yet more money on yet more subscriptions every month just to have the content that every studio is removing from Netflix because they each want in on the streaming platform market. Every single IP owner wants its own streaming service? I can’t afford it and it’s a ludicrous market concept. Piracy will worsen with this nonsense.
    gatorguy
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